Bhadarwahi proverbs

Amitabh Vikram Dwivediis assistant professor of linguistics at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, India. His research interests include language documentation, writing descriptive grammars, and the preservation of rare and endangered languages in South Asia. His most recent books are A Grammar of Hadoti (Lincom: Munich, 2012), A Grammar of Bhadarwahi (Lincom: Munich, 2013), and a poetry collection titled Chinaar kaa Sukhaa Pattaa (2015) in Hindi. As a poet, he has published more than 100 poems in different anthologies, journals and magazines worldwide.

Below is 2 of 6 in a series of monthly installments of Poetry in Translation from lesser known Indo-Aryan languages—namely, Hadoti, Bhadarwahi, and Dogri for Visitant.

Introduction

Proverbs are usually metaphorical, and they provide traditionally held truth. Bhadarwahi proverbs tell us about the culture and society of the speakers of Bhadarwahi. Here, I give a brief account of Bhadarwahi proverbs. I have used the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) for transcribing them to allow wider readership.

(IPA): dʰɑ:nçeiʈle kui peʈeei zəmejɑ bʰət kʰə
(W2W): paddypaddy-fieldgirlwombcomeson-in-lawcooked-riceeat
(LT): Paddy is in the field, daughter is in the womb you invite son-in-law for the meal.
(EE): Haste makes waste.

2.

(IPA): luhɑ:rɑenkɑnɑkesdʒo kentʃineĩepudʒo
(W2W): iron-smith thisarrowswhomfor someone notselffor
(LT): Someone to an iron-smith: For whom you are preparing arrows, Iron-smith: For no one but for myself.
(EE): A bad way has a bad end.

3.

(IPA): ʈʰukoronətʃəʈoroloɽe
(W2W): spitted not lick should
(EE): One should keep his/her promises.

4.

(IPA): zəlte ɡʰər erɑmũtʰ hi səi(W2W): burnthomefromfire EMPright(LT): When home is burning at least get a burnt log.
(EE): Something is better than nothing.

(IPA): niledrɑmnɑ dure rɑ hernere bʰoteən
(W2W): greenground far fromsee-of become AUX
(LT): Ground seems greener from far.
(EE): The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

7.

(IPA): ɑu: zençere mɑhrɑw biʃozençere məkəɽ dʒew zençere ʈləkəɽ
(W2W): camelike groom sat like monkeywentlikewaste-food
(LT): It came like a groom, sat like a monkey, and left like food waste.
(This proverb is used for snowfall.)